  Let's talk for a moment about breastfeeding.  What are my qualifications,  you ask?  I'm a mom.  I have breastfed 2 children,  and if I ever have any more children,
 I look forward to the opportunity of doing it again in the future.  The benefits are countless.  1)  Breastfeeding aids in the prevention of breast cancer.  2)  It is scientifically proven to be better for children,
 both for it's physical nutritional value and contribution to healthy brain development.  3)  Antibodies ( see # 2)  4)
 Mother and child bonding ( once you get through the initial pain -  cracked and bleeding nipples,  the possibility of public boob exposure,  and the occasional biting -  once teething begins.
 5)  Prevention of allergies ( see # 2)  6)  Less diaper bag paraphernalia (
like bottles and formula)  7)  More constructive use of time ( instead of needing to purchase bottles and sterilize them,  heating water,  mixing formula and water -
 usually resulting in some sort of mess)  8)  Economical ( booby milk is cheap)  Need I say more?  To all those macho feminist who don't want babies,
 I argue that giving birth and breastfeeding is extremely empowering.  How could it not be?  Only a woman has the ability to create and sustain life with and within her body.  Well,  ok,  we can't create completely alone.
 We do need that sperm from you guys,  but we do all the work.  Not to mention,  physical scars.  I recently went bathingsuit shopping.  Not fun,
 when you have stretch marks.  Especially if you are partial to 2 piece bathing suits,  and honestly,  most stores don't carry a large variety of cute one pieces.  I have a virtual road map of stretch marks lining my abdomen.  My daughters ask me all the time,
 " Mommy,  why do you have scratches on your tummy?  I very gently remind them,  even to the point of pulling out pictures of me pregnant,  that they are from them.
 Not in a blaming sort of way,  more like a reminder of what I was willing to go through because of my love for them.  " It's squishy,  Mommy!  And I love them for it.
 No matter what anyone says or what products claim to be able to do,  stretch marks are genetic.  Bottom line:  if your mom has them,  then you are likely to as well.  I was prepared for mine,
 but I still fought them like hell.  For 9 months,  my bathroom constantly smelled of cocoa butter and other products that promised to " prevent stretch marks"  Nevertheless,  around 6 1/
2 months into the pregnancy,  my tummy started to itch,  and then these little spots appeared.  It was kind of strange to watch them gradually progress,  as my stomach grew,  from round marks to long jagged lines as my stomach grew.
 It wasn't like I was huge.  I only gained about 35 lbs with each of my pregnancies ( by the way,  I think that Kate Hudson reportedly gained 70+  lbs.  with her pregnancy)
 So,  I embraced my " battle scars.  After Cara ( my oldest)  was born and my body started to recover,
 I was relieved when I realized that the stretch marks just fell short of coming out of the top of my bikini bottoms.  A few months later,  even before my hair had stopped falling out ( another fun post- pregnancy thing)  I found out I was going to be having another baby.
 I had already lost more than my pregnancy weight,  and I thought that my stretch marks couldn't get any worse.  The other day,  I showed Cara which stetch marks were from her ( all of them)  and then I turned to Adia (
my youngest)  and told her,  " See up here,  the top inch of all of these is from you.  Being a mother of two has stretched me farther -
 in more ways than one,  sometimes farther than I think I am able to go.  The girls seem almost proud to own the responsibility for my stetch marks,  and so I think I can bear them unabashedly.  I bought a new bathing suit the other day.  A 2 piece.
 I will show the world that I am empowered,  and I hope I can do my part to empower the next generation of women.
